This invention relates to a ball mount storage device for attachment to a vehicle, and, in particular to a device to store a ball mount of a ball-type hitch, such as a Reese hitch. The ball mount includes a stem that is removably engageable within a receiver of a hitch attached to a vehicle.
Ball mounts for such hitches are widely used. Retaining the ball mount within the hitch receiver when not towing a trailer presents a significant safety issue. The reason for this is that the ball mount normally extends beyond the vehicle's rear bumper and obviously in a collision circumvents the impact absorbing safety aspects that have been engineered into modern bumper systems. Instead the ball mount is in substantial rigid contact with the vehicle's chassis and therefore in a collision often results in more damage to the vehicle and the vehicle impacting the ball mount than if the ball mount had been removed from the receiver. Also, leaving the ball mount in the receiver without an attached trailer may result in more severe injuries to occupants of both the vehicle carrying the ball mount and the vehicle hitting the ball mount. Studies have been done by the insurance industry and the government suggesting that regulations may develop requiring that ball mounts be removed from the receiver when not in use. The problem then is that a relatively heavy ball mount that is not properly stored in the vehicle may become a dangerous projectile in a collision. A ball mount storage device prevents this from happening.
Various somewhat complex ball mount storage devices have been disclosed in the past. It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, reliable, versatile and easy to use ball mount storage device.